[Thanks Harvey for letting me know that I had that reject anonymous review thing on and sorry for not noticing it B4. And to answer the question of how he tells them apart it pressure, walking softer means that you also walk lighter, I will emphasize this point in this chapter because feeling things move under your feet can easily give a person and who they are away. As previously stated I said disclaimer in first chapter, this is another chapter in an ongoing story there fore it is the same as the first chapter, I feel that I shouldn't say it again.]
Regrets
Motoko went up to her room and grabbed her sword. Carrying it down stairs she met the others.
"You're serious, what happens if you loose?" asked Haruka.
"I have no idea. My sister is testing me on if I'm telling the truth about needing to stay here for Urashima, or if I'm lying to put off inheriting the Dojo. I don't see how this will test me." Stated Motoko holding up the sword. It felt heavier to her, the usually ten ounce sword felt light as a feather, but now, it felt different. Sighing she walked outside where the others had gathered. Keitarou was sitting there as well, his feet on the ground. It wouldn't help him much because both her and her sister walked softer, the only way that he would be able to tell what was going on would be by feeling vibrations from their techniques.
Taking her position opposite her sister Motoko drew her sword, tip pointed toward the ground.
"Let the test of your sincerity begin. You may go first." Said Tsuruko, voice calm and determined, while watching her sister.
Motoko raised her sword up to point straight at her sister. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Keitarou. Images of her striking him with the very sword she now held flashed through her mind. Her hand began shaking, the sword no longer pointing straight, she tried to steady it with her other hand. Turning slightly as she did so, she was now looking right at Keitarou who just sat there, staring off at nothing because of his blindness.
'I hate you, begone from this place.' Her own word echoed through her mind as she recognized this to be the same view that she had when she had last struck him.
What had he done to get treated like that by her anyways? She could find a reason for almost all of them, but they were weak ones. Ones that had crumbled long ago, she turned away from him bringing her sword point back at her sister who had just stood there and watched her. Pointing the sword tip back at her, it still wavered and shook. The gleam off the tip caught her attention. She had done more to him than he ever deserved, and still asked for her forgiveness when she was supposed to be the one who asked for it. Her grip relaxed and the sword fell to the ground, and Motoko soon landed on her knees, head bowed in defeat.
Tsuruko slowly walked over to her.
"I see. It's so bad that you can't even hold your sword any more. You may stay here, Motoko-han, Make right your wrongs. I will take over the Dojo in your place." Turning around, Tsuruko walked down the steps and left Hinata sou.
Motoko stood up taking her sword with her and solemnly walked back inside.
********
Naru sat in the onsen, her legs pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knees. A disturbance next to her told her someone else was there.
"Naru, I don't mean to pry but, I couldn't help noticing that you're tearing yourself up over this. Mind telling me why?" asked Kitsune.
"You have no idea how bad I feel about this do you? Before the, the accident, I said a few things to him that I shouldn't have, that I didn't mean and said out of trying to have a good time, for joys. If I didn't punch him things would still pretty much be normal around here." Sighed Naru.
"Who could have known that our little game that we put together out here would have turned out like this? Abusing Keitarou because it was funny to look at him while doing it was my idea, I feel bad about it because I'm the cause of all this. But all that I can do now is work hard to make up for my mistake." Kitsune said in desperation.
"He had dreams Kitsune, dreams. His promise to that little girl to go to Tokyo U, getting married, and in one swift punch in the name of having fun they were all lost. I threw that punch Kitsune, not you or Motoko, Su or Shinobu, I threw that punch. He can't study for the exams anymore, and what about that girl? She will be waiting for him to come to her forever, I am beyond forgiveness. I hate my life." Naru cried the last part into her arms.
"Naru, we are all equally responsible for it, you had no control over it. All of us except Shinobu voted on treating him that way, in our own ways, we each threw that final punch. We each now have our own burden on our shoulders. I wish we didn't though."
"I could have voted against it, we all could have, but I didn't. His life is ruined, his body is ruined, he may as well be dead for all that he has left for him in this world. He's forgiven us so many times before, but I doubt that even he can forgive me this time." Cried Naru looking up at her friend.
"He can't forgive us until we forgive ourselves, It'll take a while for him to accept it too, look at Su, we must do what we can to earn it from him." Sighed Kitsune who then got up and left Naru in the hot spring.
Naru put her head back against her knees curling up even more, crying from the grief that she felt for what she did.
Keitarou lay on his futon, a slight movement on the board that ran under his right arm and part of his back shifted slightly. He couldn't really feel the other foot steps except for the gently soft ones on the one until the person was within a meter of him. The way the boards dipped gave away their height and weight, it was Motoko. He curled up slightly from the fear imbedded into him. The boards shifted and stopped. After a while she reached out and ran a hand through his hair, it lingered on his shoulder. She then stood up and left the room.
'Motoko did something today, I can only guess that it was something big and life altering. It has changed her, but what it called for I don't know, will never know. It had something to do with me though, I feel so useless like this, if only I was stronger like all the girls keep telling me this wouldn't have happened. They must all hate me now for becoming like this. If I don't watch it they might end up beating me more for becoming useless, I really am pathetic.' A tear escaped his eyes. 'I know Su feels bad and wants to cheer me up, but the others, their probably not beating me until there is no other point because they don't feel that it's worth their time. I don't blame them either, even if it was to just beat me, it isn't worth anyone's time. They all hate me, they said it themselves, I only had worth as a slave to them, but I can't even be that anymore. I bet that if I die, only Shinobu would mourn me, the others would scoff at me, then in about 4 hours later, they would have forgotten me. I'm so useless.' Keitarou drifted off to sleep again.
[I am still counting votes, I have 2 votes for not continuing this fic. And 28 votes to continue it. We all know who won. K then now for the actual voting, we have five votes for the cross over, four votes against it, one neutral vote. I have one vote on the good ending, none on the bad, and none on something in between. I can't keep on writing this fic. forever. The voting is still on till this story is concluded, then I'll count them on the TM/LH cross over. As previously stated it's going to be unique in that it's told from 2 points of view and you have to go to the other series to get that POV. Well, until I get the next chapter up, Ja.]